Kerala Tourism nets record revenue

Thiruvananthapuram: The number of domestic and foreign tourist arrivals in Kerala showed an increase and the state secured a record revenue earning in 2018, which according to the state tourism department is ‘a clear demonstration that the tourism sector has rebounded quickly after the devastating floods’.
Kerala netted a record revenue of Rs 36,528.01 crore from the tourism sector last year, clocking an increase of Rs 2,874.33 crore, said a release issud by the department on Thursday.
Over 16.7 million tourists visited Kerala in 2018 as against 15.76 million the previous year, recording an increase of 5.93%. Of the total, 1.09 million were foreign tourists, who visited the state ‘that has been rated as one of world’s must-see destinations by international media and bestowed with coveted honours by premier tourism fairs across the globe’, the release said. The share of revenue from foreign visitors touched Rs 8,764.46 crore, during the period. The domestic tourism sector also gained during the period with visitors exceeding 15.6 million, showing an increase of 6.35 %.
In the first quarter of the year, tourist arrivals recorded 12.3% growth in case of foreign visitors and 20% in case of domestic tourists. The Nipah outbreak in May in some parts of the state and the floods in August led to a fall in arrivals.
This trend, however, was quickly reversed by the determined actions of the state government and tourism department, putting back the sector firmly on the growth trajectory, it said.
“This impressive growth has been achieved against adverse factors,” said tourism minister Kadakampally Surendran. The UK accounted for the largest number of foreign visitors of over 2,00,000, followed by the United States, France, Germany and Saudi Arabia.
The campaign mounted through the media, including social media platforms, played a vital role in the success story, the release added.